Light-weight roofing and similar structures

ABSTRACT

A light-weight roofing or similar structure, particularly for roofing sports grounds, exhibition halls and other large areas, has a generally planar supporting net or network, cover sheets each having a barrel-like curvature, anti-vibration devices securing the straight edges of the cover sheets to the net or network, and sealing strips sealing mutually adjacent curved edges to one another and mutually adjacent straight edges to one another.

United States Patent Schnebel Mar. 19, 1974 [5 LIGHT-WEIGHT ROOFING AND SIMILAR 3,318,055 5/1967 Piana 1. 52/18 x STRUCTURES 3,154,888 11/1964 Graham 1 52/80 3,544,416 12/1970 Gebhard 52/511 [76] Inventor: Fritz Schnebel, Post Frasdorf, D 3,611,649 10/1971 Muller et a1. 52/80 8207 Greimelberg 75a, Germany [22] Filed: Jan. 11, 1973 Primary Examiner-Price C. Faw, Jr. [211 Appl. No.: 322,652

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data I J n l 1 1972 German 22010 A llght-weight roofing or similar structure, particularly a y for roofing sports grounds, exhibition halls and other [52] U 5 CI 52/479 52/511 large areas, has a generally planar supporting net or [51] Int Cl llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll E6 N38 network, cover sheets each having a barrel-like curva- [58] Fieid 511 493 ture, anti-vibration devices securing the straight edges 86 94 6 of the cover sheets to the net or network, and sealing strips sealing mutually adjacent curved edges to one [56] -ke-ferencestcited another and mutually adjacent straight edges to one ther.

UNITED STATES PATENTS am 12 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 859.635 7/1907 Webster ..52/498X PATENTEDHAR 1 9 I974 7L1-89 SHEET 2 0r 3 v PATENTEDHAR 19 I974 sum 3 0F 3 LIGHT-WEIGHT ROOFING AND SIMILAR STRUCTURES The invention relates to light-weight roofing and similar structures of the kind comprising a generally planar supporting structure, in particular one providing a network having a generally planar face, and cover sheets supported by the network. In such a structure the sheets are usually held on the support structure by permanently elastic anti-vibration devices and elastic sealing strips join the cover sheets at their edges. I

Usually the support structure is a net or network of girders. The cover sheets may be translucent. Such structures are used particularly for roofing sports grounds, exhibition halls and similar locations where a weather-resistant covering of large surface area is required. I

It is the object of the invention to construct alightweight roofing or similar structure of this kind with the least possible expenditure on anti-vibration devices and in such, a way that thecovering nevertheless has the required mechanical strength and resistance to external loadings while still providing a reliable seal.

Accordingly a light-weight roofing or similar structure according to the invention comprises a generally planar supporting structure, a number of cover sheets each curved in a barrel-like manner and disposed adjacent but slightly spaced from one another, a number of permanently elastic anti-vibration devices carried by the supporting structure and secured to and supporting the cover sheets only adjacent their non-curved edges, the elastic sealing strips providing seals between both adjacent non-curved edges of the cover sheets and between adjacent curved edges of the cover sheets.

Despite requiring a reduced number of anti-vibration devices the invention enables the cover sheets to be effectively floated and resiliently secured on the supporting structure while being able to withstand applied loadings without the risk of excessive mechanical stresses being imposed on the individual cover sheets.

A rope net with rope junctions which are movable relative to each other as well as a rigid structure in the form of-girders, whichmay be provided with expansion joints, may be used as the support structure.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention there are pairs of clamping devices clamping the said sealing strips to the saidcover sheets, said clamping devices each having a pair of integral clamping jaws extending the length of the said adjacent edge and having a flexible portion'whereby said jaws can be moved towards one another toclamp the said adjacent edge. To this end, the said jaws for said curved edges may be appropriately precurved in accordance with the barrel curvature. Each said clamping device clamping sad curved edges may be interconnected to said associated clamping device and have a number of slots along itslength to permit limited relative movement between said pairs of clamping devices. I

In order to protect the cover sheetsagainst diagonal notchstresses it is advantageous to have corner members extending over the corners of said cover sheets and clamped between those said clamping jaws which clamp mutually adjacent cover sheet edges. The comer and thus relieve thecover sheets.

It is also preferable for there to be tie links providing the said interconnection and located at the apex of the barrel-shaped curve of the cover sheets. This arrangement of the tie links ensures that those edge parts of the cover sheets which are particularly at risk against collapse or indentation, for example, due to walking thereon, support each other and thus provide a better distribution of tensile and other forces in the covering.

In order to achieve a simple construction for the covering, in particular when used with support structures which are subject to slight relative movement, that is to say support structures subject substantially only to thermal expansion and load movement, the permanently elastic anti-vibration devices preferably comprise synthetic rubber buffers disposed between the cover sheets and the supporting structure and having a mounting screw extending through a hole in each said buffer and there being a hole in each said cover sheet. To mount the cover sheets on the support structure the anti-vibration devices are secured and sealed to the cover sheets by means including a washer, a metal plate and a ring seal having an extension which completely fills the said hole in the cover sheet, a synthetic rubber washer and a metal plate having a tapped hole being provided adjacent the support structure.

On the extension side, the ring sea] may have an indentation which is shallow and annular in the unstressed state. This ensures that when the fastening screw is tightened a contact seal similar to that of a suction cup is produced between the ring seal and the cover'sheet thus assisting the action of the ring seal. In orderto obtain reliably sealed coverings the side of the metal plate nearest to the washer may be provided with an indentation in which an O-ring is disposed. When the screw fastener is tightened the O-ring is forced completely into the annular chamber defined by the indentation and the screw fastener or the washer and completely fills theannular chamber thus providing a reliable seal.

Preferably the roofing or similar structure has a noncurved outer edge extending approximately perpendicularly to the plane of the adjacent curved edge and sealed by one of the said sealing strips to the said adjacent cover'sheet and mounted by the said anti-vibration devices on supports attached to the support structure. This construction provides a gutter which is very important, in particular for roofings of large surface areas. The edges in turn are floatingly and resiliently mounted onthe supporting structure in the same way as the cover sheets and are movable with respect to the cover sheets by virtue of the sealing strips.

The sealing strips may be prefabricated in net-form or cruciform configurations and the joints which occur in installation may bemade by vulcanising.

The invention enables a roofing of the kind described hereinbefore to have a light-weight support structure with reduced expenditure on permanently elastic antivibration devices and thus to obtain a roofing which is altogether more economical. In the case of relatively immovable support structures wide use may be made of prefabricated cover sheets, sealing strips and antivibration devices without substantial finishing operations having to be performed at the building site.

. An example of a roofing structure according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of part of the roofing structure;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a sealing strip joining the curved edges of two cover sheets;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an anti-vibration device mounted on the support structure and a sealing strip disposed on the straight longitudinal edge of a cover sheet;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an unloaded ring seal; and

FIG. 5 is a partially sectioned view showing the mounting and sealing of an edge of the roofing structure.

FIG. 1 shows a cover sheet 1 of transparent synthetic resin, for example of acrylic resin, curved in barrel shape, mounted on a light-weight planar support structure in the form of girders 40 and forming part of the roofing structure. Permanently elastic anti-vibration devices are provided along the straight longitudinal edges 1a of the cover sheet 1 and secure the covr sheet to the support structure while the other edges of the cover sheet are free of anti-vibration devices. Permanently elastic sealing strips 3 are mounted in sealingtight manner on the straight longitudinal edges la as well as on the curved edges lb of the cover sheet 1.

The sealing strips 3 are sealed to the cover sheet 1 by clamping devices 26 extending along the straight longitudinal edges 1a and along the curved edges 1b. The clamping devices 26 for the sealing strips extending alongside the curved edges 1b are precurved in accordance with the barrel-shaped curvature of the cover sheet 1 and are then clamped to the cover sheet by the interposition of the sealing strip 3.

The anti-vibration devices are disposed in accordance with the curvature ofthe cover sheet 1 on extension members 41 which are welded or otherwise mounted on the girders 40 of the support structure. A tie link 42, which bridges the curved edges 1b of adjacent cover sheets 1, is provided at the apex of the barrel-curvature of the cover sheet. Because of the presence of a slot 43 the tie link 42 is able to perform limited longitudinal movement relative to the curved edge 1b of the cover sheet or of the clamping device 26 on which it is secured by means of a screw fastener.

Th entire roofing consists of a large number of cover sheets screw-mounted to the support structure in serial disposition as well as adjacent one another, thus resulting in a roofing which gives the impression of many barrelled arches.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section through ajoint between the curved edges lb of two cover sheets 1 at the apex of the curvature with the clamped sealing strip 3 and the tie link 42. The longitudinal edges of the sealing strip 3, which are surrounded by the clamping devices 26, are thickened. The clamping devices 26, which join the sealing strip 3 to the edges 1b of the cover sheets 1, are constructed integrally with two clamping jaws. A thinner region 35 is provided between the two clamping jaws to enable the two clamping jaws to be moved towards each other by means of a screw fastener 30 for the purpose of clamping-the sealing strip 3 to the cover sheet 1. The thickened longitudinal edge 20 of the sealing strip 3 is placed around the edge lb of the appropriate cover sheet 1 and the clamping device 26 is slid over this assembly. The screw fasteners 30 for clamping the clamping devices 26 are sufficiently long to accommodate a spacer sleeve 44 which provides the required distance for free movement of the tie link 42 along its slots 43. The tie link 42 permits limited movement of the curved edges lb of two adjacent cover sheets 1 at the apex of the curvature and relative to each other. If the limit of movement defined by the tie link 42 is exceeded, the tie link functions to transmit tension and prevents indentation of the barrel-shaped cover sheet 1 at the apex of curvature.

' FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an installed antivibration device and of a sealing strip 3 which is clamped on to the straight longitudinal edge 1a of the cover sheet 1. The drawing is cut-away between the two cover sheets, the second covering sheet, which is not shown, being disposed symmetrically to the illustrated covering sheet so that the girder 40 extends cen-. trally below the sealing strip 3. An extension member 41 is welded on the girder 40 and has a mounting surface for the anti-vibration device extending parallel to the plane of the cover sheet in the zone of the straight longitudinal edge la.

The permanently elastic anti-vibration device 2 comprises a synthetic rubber buffer 45 disposed between the cover sheet 1 and the extension member 41 and through which a mounting screw fastener 46 extends. A washer 47, a metal plate 48 and a ring seal 49 with an extension 50 which completely fills the screw fastener hole in the cover sheet 1 is disposed on the outside thereof. The screw fastener 46 is screw-mounted on to a metal plate 52 with a tapped hole 53 with the interposition of a synthetic rubber washer 51. The bore 54 for the screw fastener 46 in the extension member 41 must be sufficiently large to ensure reliable movement of the cover sheet 1 relative to the girder 40, such movement being of the order of approximately 10 On the side of the washer 47, the metal plate 48 is provided with an indentation 55. The indentation 55 has an O-ring 56 disposed therein, the cross-section of which is such that it completely fills the annular chamber defined by the indentation, the screw fastener 46 and the washer 47. When the screw fastener 46 is tightened, the O-ring is thrust into the annular chamber to provide a completely reliable seal for the screw fastener 46 with respect to the metal plate 48. The clamping connection of the sealing strip 3 is made alongside the straight longitudinal edges la in the same manner as that indicated in FIG 2. FIG. 3 however also shows a corner member 37 which is additionally clamped between the clamping jaws of the clamping device 26. The corner member 37 is of rectangular construction and joins the clamping device 26 on the straight longitudinal edge 1a and that on the curved edge 1b at the corner of each cover sheet by a clamping connection.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section through the ring seal 49 in the load-relieved state. In this state the ring seal 49 has a shallow annular indentation 47 disposed on the side of the extension 50. The purpose of this annular indentation 57 is to produce a sealing-tight connection to the cover sheet 1, similar to that produced by a suction device, when the screw fastener 46 is tightened.

FIG. 5 illustrates the edge zone of the roofing and shows an end plate part 58 which is connected by means of a sealing strip 3 to the straight longitudinal edge la ofa cover sheet 1 in the edge zone of the roofing. If the illustration of FIG. 5 is regarded as a continuation of the view shown in FIG. 3 it will be seen that the end plate part 58 extends approximately perpendicularly to the plane of the sheet 1 in the zone of the straight longitudinal edge 1a. The sealing strip 3 is clamped to the end plate part 58 in the manner already described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the screw fastener 30 being disposed in such a way that it does not penetrate through the sealing strip 3 at any position. The end plate part 58 is mounted by means of an anti-vibration device 2 on a support 59 which is attached to the girder 40. The end plate part 58 is movable and sealing tight in the same way as the other cover sheets 1 of the roofing. Together with the edge zone of the roofing the end plate part forms an effective gutter. The end plate part 58 illustrated in FIG. 5 is constructed so that it may be attached alongside a straight longitudinal edge 1a of a cover sheet 1. If such an end plate part is to be attached alongside a curved edge 1b of a cover sheet 1 the longitudinal edge of the end plate part must be cut and prepared in accordance with the barrel-shaped curvature of the cover sheet 1.

It is essential that the sealing strips 3 join all cover sheets of the entire roofing contiguously with sealingtight joints. The joints of prefabricated sealing strips or cruciform members may be vulcanised during installation. These contiguous sealing stripsof the entire roofing also provide drainage for the entire roof surface.

lclaim:

1. A light-weight roofingor similar structure, comprising a generally planar supporting structure, a number of cover sheets each curved in a barrel-like manner and disposed adjacent but slightly spaced from one another, a number .of permanentlyelastic anti-vibration devicescarried by the supporting structure and secured to and supporting the cover sheets only adjacent their non-curved edges, and elastic sealing strips providing seals between both adjacent non-curved edges of the cover sheets and between adjacent curved edges of the cover sheets. 1

2. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 1 in which the said permanently elastic anti-vibration devices comprise synthetic rubber buffers disposed between the cover sheets and the supporting structure and having a mounting screw extending through a hole in each saidbuffer and there being a hole in each said cover sheet.

3. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 2 in which the said anti-vibration devices are secured and sealed ,to the cover sheet bymeans' including a washer, a metal plate and a ring seal having an extenvsion which completely fills the said hole in the cover sheet, a synthetic rubber washer and a metal plate having a tapped hole being provided adjacent the support structure.

4. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 3 in which said'ring seal on the side of said extension has an annular, shallow indentation when in an unstressed state.

5. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 3 in which the side of said metal plate nearest to the said washer is provided with an indentation in which an O-ring is disposed. f

6. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 1 having pairs of clamping devices clamping the said sealing strips to the said cover sheets, said clamping devices each havinga pair of integral clamping jaws extending the length of the said adjacent edge and having a flexible portion whereby said jaws can be moved towards one another to clamp the said adjacent edge.

7. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 6 having corner members extending over the corners of said cover sheets and clamped between those said clamping jaws which clamp mutually adjacent cover sheet edges.

8. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 6 in which said jaws for said curvededges are appropriately precurved in accordance with the barrel curvature.

9. Aroofing or similar structure according to claim 8 in which each said clamping device clamping said curved edges is interconnected to said associated clamping device and has a number of slots along its length to permit limited relative movement between said pairs of clamping devices. I

' 10. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 9 having tie links providing the said interconnection and located at the apex of the barrel-shaped curve of nets or in a cruciform manner prior to installation and joints which occur in installation are'made by vulcanising. 

1. A light-weight roofing or similar structure, comprising a generally planar supporting structure, a number of cover sheets each curved in a barrel-like manner and disposed adjacent but slightly spaced from one another, a number of permanently elastic anti-vibration devices carried by the supporting structure and secured to and supporting the cover sheets only adjacent their non-curved edges, and elastic sealing strips providing seals between both adjacent non-curved edges of the cover sheets and between adjacent curved edges of the cover sheets.
 2. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 1 in which the said permanently elastic anti-vibration devices comprise synthetic rubber buffers disposed between the cover sheets and the supporting structure and having a mounting screw extending through a hole in each said buffer and there being a hole in each said cover sheet.
 3. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 2 in which the said anti-vibration devices are secured and sealed to the cover sheet by means including a washer, a metal plate and a ring seal having an extension which completely fills the said hole in the cover sheet, a synthetic rubber washer and a metal plate having a tapped hole being provided adjacent the support structure.
 4. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 3 in which said ring seal on the side of said extension has an annular, shallow indentation when in an unstressed state.
 5. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 3 in which the side of said metal plate nearest to the said washer is provided with an indentation in which an O-ring is disposed.
 6. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 1 having pairs of clamping devices clamping the said sealing strips to the said cover sheets, said clamping devices each having a pair of integral clamping jaws extending the length of the said adjacent edge and having a flexible portion whereby said jaws can be moved towards one another to clamp the said adjacent edge.
 7. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 6 having corner members extending over the corners of said cover sheets and clamped between those said clamping jaws which clamp mutually adjacent cover sheet edges.
 8. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 6 in which said jaws for said curved edges are appropriately precurved in accordance with the barrel curvature.
 9. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 8 in which each said clamping device clamping said curved edges is interconnected to said associated clamping device and has a number of slots along its length to permit limited relative movement between said pairs of clamping devices.
 10. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 9 having tie links providing the said interconnection and located at the apex of the barrel-shaped curve of the cover sheets.
 11. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 1 having a non-curved outer edge extending approximately perpendicularly to the plane of the adjacent curved edge and sealed by one of the said sealing strips to the said adjacent cover sheet and mounted by the said anti-vibration devices on supports attached to the support structure.
 12. A roofing or similar structure according to claim 1 in which the said sealing strips are prefabricated in nets or in a cruciform manner prior to installation and joints which occur in installation are made by vulcanising. 